What he allegedly did wasn’t the way to achieve it: smashing his Ford pickup four times into her attached garage, then trying to drive up her porch into the front door, then driving to her new boyfriend’s workplace and repeatedly ramming the boyfriend’s 1969 Mustang, shoving it across the parking lot and crumpling it.

Gerald ReschkeMuskegon County Jail

Reschke, 46, of Fruitland Township was arraigned Tuesday, July 30, in two separate felony cases stemming from the incidents.

From the garage incident at Sandalwood Shores condominiums in Norton Shores, he’s charged with malicious destruction of a building causing at least $1,000 damage but less than $20,000. From the Mustang-crushing incident in Lowe’s parking lot in Fruitport Township, he’s charged with malicious destruction of personal property $1,000-$20,000 and second-offense driving while intoxicated.

According to the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office, the bizarre sequence of events happened the afternoon of July 22, witnessed by many neighbors.

Reschke and his ex-wife had been divorced about two years but had reportedly remained friendly for much of that time.

Around 3:45 p.m., allegedly drunk and angry that she had begun seeing a new boyfriend, he showed up at her condo while she was out at a store and began smashing into the garage.

“He pushed the garage door all the way to the back of the garage with all the contents,” said Diandra Reschke, the defendant’s ex-wife. She said her daughter is in the U.S. Navy and was on leave at the time, and all of her gear – including uniforms – was stored in the garage and destroyed.

“Then he thought he’d try the front door,” Diandra Reschke said. “I guess the steps and the wrought-iron railing stopped him before he got through the door.”

Next, according to police reports, Gerald Reschke allegedly drove to Lowe’s, found Diandra Reschke's new boyfriend’s classic cherry-red Mustang, pushed it out of its parking space, got back in his truck and repeatedly rammed it from multiple directions, pushing it far across the lot as he smashed into it.

According to Assistant Prosecutor James Corbett, after his arrest Reschke admitted drinking and most of the other allegations but refused to take an alcohol breath test. Reschke has a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated, Corbett said.

After Reschke was taken into custody, an arrest warrant was issued in the garage case July 23 and in the Mustang case July 25. He posted total cash bond of $30,000 and reported for arraignment July 30. His preliminary hearing in both cases is scheduled for Aug. 13.

Reschke's attorney, J. Christopher Wilson, could not immediately be reached for comment late Friday, Aug. 2.

The case is reminiscent of another Muskegon County case this year. Kathy Lee Emery was sentenced Feb. 26 to jail, probation and anger management classes for ramming her Dodge Durango into her ex-husband’s Dalton Township house after a bitter divorce.